Lee Choon-jae
Serial Rapist Hebephile |signature = Binding victims with their own clothing |mo = Rape Strangulation |type = Power/Control |victims = 11-16 killed 30+ raped |time = September 15, 1986 - January 13, 1994 |capture = January 18, 1994 |status = Incarcerated |birth date = January 14, 1963 |birth place = Hwaseong, Gyeonggi, South Korea}} Lee Choon-jae, a.k.a. The Hwaseong Serial Killer, is a South Korean serial killer who was convicted of murdering his sister-in-law in 1994. In 2019, he confessed to fifteen other killings, including ten in the Hwaseong serial murders between 1986 and 1991. He also said that he had raped over 30 women. Background Almost no information seems to exist about Lee's early life, aside from the fact that he was born in January 1963 in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi. On September 26, 1989, he broke into a house in Gwangju, Suwon, armed with weapons and wearing gloves. Upon being discovered by the landlord, he was arrested. In February 1990, he was sentenced to one year and six months in prison for robbery and violence. Lee filed an appeal after the first trial, claiming that he had been attacked by an unknown young man and entered the victim's house while being chased. A second trial changed his sentence to two years of probation. He was released in April. Killings, Capture, and Incarceration At some point, Lee decided to start murdering women. Out of his eleven confirmed killings, the most infamous ones were the Hwaseong serial murders, in which ten females (ages fourteen to 71) were gagged, raped, and then strangled with their own clothes. The case became particularly infamous within South Korea for being the first truly identifiable string of murders with a modus operandi. Police involved spent two million man-days, and 21,280 people were looked into as suspects. The few witnesses described what the killer looked like, and so a composite was released. In December 1993, Lee's wife left him. On January 13, 1994, he invited his sister-in-law over and drugged her. He then proceeded to rape and kill her. To lower any suspicion that he was the killer he hid her body and went to his father-in-law, offering to help search for her; both reported she was probably abducted. Lee was arrested on January 18, having raised suspicion that he did kill her when he kept asking, "How many years do you serve in prison for rape and murder?" Lee denied any involvement in his sister-in-law's death, and the court overturned his confession, stating that he had lied because of police brutality. However, he was convicted and sentenced to death in May; his conviction was upheld in September. In 1995, the Supreme Court reviewed the case and reduced his sentence to life imprisonment with the possibility of parole after 20 years. On September 18, 2019, it was announced that Lee had been identified as a suspect in the Hwaseong serial murders. DNA from the underwear of one of his victims matched his, and subsequent evidence linked him to four of the ten killings. He initially denied responsibility, but on October 2, authorities revealed that he eventually confessed to murdering fifteen victims, including the ten previously unsolved ones. Three of the other five killings mentioned by him took place in Hwaseong and the other two in Cheongju. In addition, Lee confessed to over 30 rapes and attempted rapes. On November 15, authorities announced that they had determined Lee was responsible for the Hwaseong killings; however, due to the statute of limitations expiring, he will not be charged. Modus Operandi Since there were almost no witnesses, it is generally believed that Lee dressed in black clothing of various types (depending on the month) and wore a hood and/or black baseball cap, and maybe a ski mask to hide his face. His usual pattern of attack was to target South Korean women and girls, strike when they were walking alone in secluded areas, and then rape and kill them via ligature strangulation. He most likely did not disguise himself when he murdered his sister-in-law. Profile The killer likely came from a poor socioeconomic background and was probably abused. He would have spent a lot of time torturing small animals as an outlet for his anger. His parents would likely have sought help for his problems, only to continue abusing him when he did not change; either his mother's involvement or negligence would have caused him to hate women. He was potentially incarcerated in a mental facility until the age of 21 if his problems were seen as severe enough by South Korean officials. He was likely in his late 20s to early 30s during the span of the attacks. The cruelty of his actions would suggest that the killer was/is most likely a psychopath. He displays traits of both a serial killer and a spree killer, having killed four victims within three months before waiting months, even years between others. He most likely used a knife, gun, or club to threaten his victims. He likely stopped murdering to avoid being captured. His victims always had at least one item of red clothing on them. In a similar manner, he also displays traits of both an organized and a disorganized offender; he possibly left one survivor and did not bring his murder weapons with him, but he had enough presence of mind to attack his victims in secluded, dark locations, restrain them, and, most notably, got away with the murders. Since his attacks were planned out strategically without tools, the most accurate classification for him could be an organized/non-social classification. The murderer was a narcissist who craved attention and sought to make himself known by taunting the police; he did this by being the first serial killer in South Korea to have a truly identifiable modus operandi. He may have served in the military; if so, it would likely have been in the army and he would have likely received multiple complaints and been reprimanded for violence against women and torture. Known Victims Confirmed *1986: **September 15: Lee Wan-im, 71 **October 20: Park Hyun-sook, 25 **December 12: Kwon Jung-bon, 25 **December 14: Lee Kye-sook, 23 *1987: **January 10: Hong Jin-young, 19 **May 2: Park Eun-joo, 29 **September 7: Ahn Gi-soon, 54 *September 16, 1988: Park Sang-hee, 14 *November 15, 1990: Kim Mi-jung, 14 *April 3, 1991: Kwon Soo-sang, 69 *January 13, 1994: Lee's unnamed sister-in-law, 18 Possible *December 24, 1987: Ms. Kim, 18 *July 7, 1989: Ms. Kim, 9 *1991: **January 27: Ms. Park, 17 **March 7: Mrs. Kim, 27 *June 24, 1992: Mrs. Lee, 28 *Note: Lee also confessed that he had committed more than 30 rapes and attempted rapes. On Criminal Minds *Season Seven **"Unknown Subject" - While Lee has yet to be directly mentioned or referenced on the show, the case he was a part of appears to have been an inspiration for Hamilton Bartholomew - Both were killers and serial rapists with over nine victims, had a similar M.O., targeted young women, were classed as anger-excitation and power-assertive rapists, and were given nicknames by the media for their crimes. Notes *A 22-year-old man named Yoon Sung-yeo was deemed to be a copycat who killed Park Sang-hee. He was convicted of her murder and served 19.5 years in prison before being released on parole in 2009. After Lee confessed to killing her, Yoon filed for a retrial on November 13, 2019. The outcome is currently unknown. Sources *Wikipedia's article about Lee Category:Real Serial Killers Category:Real Life Rapists Category:Real Life Child Killers Category:Real Life Narcissists Category:Real World Criminals Category:Unreferenced Criminals Category:Real Life Killers Category:Real Life Psychopaths Category:Incarcerated Real World Criminals Category:Real Foreign Criminals Category:Real Hebephiles Category:Real Spree Killers